Boat stabilizing appliance



June 4, 1957 w. s. GASKOUlTZ BOAT STABILIZING APPLIANCE Filed March 20,1953 I a/ /f 5 J Z Q a M? 5 0/ WWW United States Patent 2,794,191 BOATSTABILIZING APPLIANCE Walter S. Gaskouitz, Chicago, 111. ApplicationMarch 20, 1953, Serial No. 343,7 76 1 Claim. (Cl. 9-1) This inventionrelates to an appliance for boats and more particularly an appliance ofthe type for rendering the boat more buoyant and for stabilizing thesame.

The present invention has for its object the provision of such anappliance which embodies such features of construction and design as tooffer improvements over former devices of this character.

It is an important feature of the present invention to provide such anappliance consisting of an inflatable tube in combination with means forsupporting the same alongside the outer side walls of the boat with theuse of a detachable bracket of novel design and construction.

The accompanying drawings illustrate certain embodiments of theinvention which will now be described, it being understood that theembodiment illustrated is susceptible of modification in respect ofcertain structural details thereof without departing from the spirit andscope of this invention as defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of a boat having each side wall thereofprovided with an appliance in accordance With the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the appliance as shown on oneside of the boat in Fig. 1 to illustrate the end portion of the tube andthe supporting means as the same appears in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the tube and supporting means as thesame appears when viewed from the end of the tube.

Reference being had more particularly to the drawings the referencenumeral designates a boat opposed side walls 11 and 12 connected at therear end by a stern wall 13 and converging at the opposite end to definea how 14. Reference numeral 15 identifies a molding of suitable designwhich trims the upper edge of the side walls 11 and 12.

An inverted U-shaped clamp presents opposed depending legs 16 and 17connected at their upper ends by a bridge portion 18 at such distanceapart as to straddle the upper side wall portion of the boat and the rim15 with the inwardly facing surfaces of the legs 16 and 17 spaced adistance away from the opposite surface of the boat side wall when thebridge portion 18 has engagement with the upper surface of the rim asshown in Fig. 3. A binding screw 19 having threaded connection with thelower end of the outer leg 16 of the clamp engages the Patented June 4,1957 outer surface of the side Wall of the boat while a second bindingscrew 20 having threaded connection with the lower end of the inner leg17 of the clamp in substantially axial alignment with the screw 19engages the inner surface of the side wall of the boat whereby the clampis rigidly fixed to the side wall.

A downward extension of the outer leg 16 terminates in a head 21, towhich a bracket arm 22 is connected for adjustable positionment relativeto the leg 16 about an axis extending generally lengthwise of the sidewall of the boat to which the clamp is fixed. Such connection isestablished by means of a bolt 23 entering a bore in the head 21 and acooperating bore formed in a head 24 provided at the end of the arm 22.Opposed cooperating faces of the head 21 on the leg 16 and the head 24on the arm 22 present radial corrugations as at 25 whereby a wing nut 26on being turned on the bolt 23 to tighten the connection between thehead 21 and head 24 bring about an interfitting engagement at saidfaces. Accordingly the bolt and the heads cooperate to bind the arm 22in a selected position of rotation about the bolt as an axis toaccommodate the selected angular position of the arm 22 relative to theside wall of the boat. The outer end of the arm 22 terminates in aring-like member 27 so as to allow the passage therethrough and havetight inward engagement with a suitable inflatable tube 28. As noted inFig. l the tube 28 is of such length as to extend beyond the distancebetween the arms 22 of a pair of clamps, as described, which are fixedto portions of each side wall of the boat at selected distances apartlengthwise of the side wall of the boat. By means of a suitable valve 29provided on the tube 28, the latter may be inflated after beingpositioned within the cooperating loops or ringlike members 27 of theclamps so as to assure strong frictional engagement with the innersurfaces of said members 27 and thereby avoiding danger of accidentalwithdrawal of the tube therefrom.

What is claimed is:

An appliance for a boat including a pair of clamps adapted to straddlethe upper rim of the side wall of a boat for fixed attachment thereto inspaced apart relation lengthwise of said side wall, an arm connected toeach clamp for angular adjustment about an axis extending generallylengthwise of the side wall of the boat, a ring forming the outerswinging end of each of said arms, and an elongated inflatable tubesupported in said rings and held therein by its expansion, said tubebeing of uniform circular transverse cross-sectional contour throughouta length greater than the distance between said rings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

